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Friday, August 12, 2016

Two weeks after we got back from Utah and Idaho, we flew up to Vernon, British Columbia to spend four days with Jon's sister Caylee and her family. It was our first time there (even though they've lived there for five years, how terrible of us), and my first time in British Columbia. I can't believe it took me so long! Paradise.

Our flight got in reeeeeeeally late, so we weren't expecting this welcoming committee at the airport. Pleasant surprise!

It was dark when we got in, but we woke up to this view. Incredible.

Tatum and me just picking peaches in the backyard, NBD.

Feeding cows(?) at Davison Orchard.

There was this ramp and platform, and a pulley system you could use to raise the pellets up to them. Delightful.

Cherry pit spitting contest. (The cherry juice washed right out of my shirt, thank you very much.)

On our way to learn about apples 'n s***!

I paddle boarded! And I was pretty good at it! Jon managed to stay standing juuuust long enough for the next picture.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

The main reason we spent some time in Utah on our way home is because I've been hankering to bike Provo Canyon again.

Picnic lunch at Vivian Park

Bridal Veil falls

Utah has NEVER been more beautiful

Sunday morning we brunched at the Homestead in Midway...

...and checked out the crater...

...from below AND above.

Then Jon and I headed to Park City to ride the alpine slide. $16 buys you a lift ticket up and the ride down! I thought that was a great deal. Especially since the lift takes a solid 10-15 minutes, and the view is incredible.

Wheeeeee!

We invited Christa and fam up to Annie's for Sunday night dinner and laughed until our bladders nearly failed. We also saw each other on our way through Provo at the beginning of the trip, but this time we actually remembered to document it.

We also collected chicken eggs at Annie's friend's house, which was very scary:

Leaving Heber, headed south :(

^Bee^

[Unpictured] My friend/coworker recently moved to Fillmore, UT (in the heart of Millard County - they sure love their Whigs!) and assured me on his way out the door that there's a well-staffed Arby's in Fillmore, whenever we're passing through. Well turns out that the Arby's has since shut down, but we had a good time catching up over Costa Vida nachos. This was likely my last time sitting outdoors until November, because the temperature only went up from there.

It didn't seem too bad when we got to Horseshoe Bend; the sun was behind clouds and we'd had the A/C cranked in the Honda for Penny's sake. But about 1/3 of the way into the 2 mile (round trip) trek, and after the sun came out for good, we started to wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into.

But this place was incredible. SO much better than I was expecting (and I was expecting a lot). We'll definitely be going back in the fall, and minus a dog.

She snuck in a lick.

These next two pictures are ridiculous. Neither of us knew the other had taken them until we were miles down the road.

Grilled cheese at the dairy in Midway (note to future self: the verde cheese one was the best)

Listened to Hamilton in its entirety twice - once with Annie on our drive to Idaho (her first listen!) and once on our way back to AZ on the fourth of July (I cried). I've mentioned on Twitter but not on my blog that I have tickets to see it in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Listened to the safe Book of Mormon songs with Annie on the drive back to Heber and laughed and laughed. "They'll have to believe it just....cuz."

Listened to the vultures episode of Stuff You Should Know with Annie. One of my favorite eps!

While she was coloring I asked Ada if she sees rats a lot, living in NYC and all. She replied casually, "Yeah, I once jumped over a rat." Corinne verified that a huge rat came at Ada as she ran down the sidewalk, and she skillfully jamp it.

The kids liked to play "I'm thinking of..." guessing games at dinner. After all the Hamilton cast had been covered, we turned it into "I'm allergic to..." I hinted that I'm allergic to a cute animal with long ears (rabbit). Ada guessed "A bat-eared fox?"

Before whitewater rafting, we parked Annie and Steve's Jeep at the take-out spot, moved some gear around, then crammed everyone into my dad's truck to head up the road to the boat launch. In the midst of reorganizing our gear between the two vehicles, my dad asked Steve to unlock the Jeep. Moments later, he asked him again. Steve replied, "I just did; did it not work?" and my dad sheepishly admitted, "...I blew it." Instant catchphrase of the entire trip. Who among us hasn't pulled the door handle at the exact wrong moment?

Once we got the cars organized and all 7 bodies crammed into the truck, Corinne began to wonder if her and Ada's hats and sunglasses had survived the change-up. We all started searching, with no luck. After a couple minutes, we were just about to turn the truck around to go look in the Jeep, when Steve announced, "Hang on, it looks like Ada's sitting on something." She had been perched on every single missing item, completely unaware of the hullabaloo. (My iPhone note reminding me to blog this story reads simply "Ada sitting on everything.")

We had purchased those hats and sunglasses the night before at Walmart specifically for rafting. My sunglasses had cost $2.50 and broke while they were sitting on my face almost immediately after we pulled the raft out. Corinne pointed out, "That's like a dollar an hour!"

Ada had to use an outhouse in Yellowstone. It smelled so bad that Corinne had to intermittently duck outside for fresh air. After Ada had finished, they exited to find another mother waiting with her daughter. Corinne warned them about how bad it smelled inside, and the little girl started crying.

On the way home from Yellowstone, Joseph was pestering Ada by repeating "Whaaaat?" in an adorable (to everyone else), sing-songy voice. Corinne told Ada he was only doing it to get a rise out of her, and that the best way to make him stop was to ignore it. But Ada continued to engage him and her annoyance was reaching critical mass. To try to prevent a meltdown, I suggested that she tell Joseph a funny joke that might distract him. Near tears, Ada turned to Joseph and said "Knock knock." Without missing a beat, Joseph replied "Whaaaat?" (The adults quietly laughed to tears. You're welcome for that set-up, Joseph.)

We kept Penny locked away for a few hours every day, for her own good. She tends to get overwhelmed by kids and other dogs. One day, when we were at Annie's, we returned to the house to find that Dash had let Penny out of her room and they'd been hanging out together for hours.

My mom ordered a pesto chicken pasta dish at Stockman's, and when the waitress set the behemoth plate down in front of her she immediately asked, "Can I have a box?"

Annie told us a story about a guy at a horse show approaching her and saying "Nice tan!" Annie has an allergy to the sun and is constantly annoyed by strangers remarking on her clothing (turtlenecks in summer) and porcelain skin, so she flatly replied "Thanks," turned back to her task at hand, and secretly rolled her eyes. Later she learned that she had scored a ten, and that the stranger had been complimenting her on it through a thick, Southern accent.